Former premier Ujjal Dosanjh recaptured what many thought was the safest federal Liberal seat in B.C. with a mere 20 votes over Tory Wai Young, a second judicial recount found today.
The result, 21 days after the Oct. 14 federal election, is the longest recount in Canadian history.
“I obviously didn’t think it would be this close,” said Dosanjh outside an Elections Canada office on Southwest Marine Drive in Vancouver.
“We felt – as everybody else felt in the province – that we had the safest seat in the province for the Liberals.”
The 20-vote victory is a far cry from the 9,000-vote margin that Dosanjh beat Conservative Tarlok Sablok in 2006.
Dosanjh blamed the narrow victory on Liberal Leader Stephane Dion, who he said failed to connect with Canadians and scared people with his proposed Green Shift carbon tax.
“Some people stayed home because they thought I was safe. Others were scared enough to go vote for the Conservatives.”
Young saw her margin of defeat shrink from 779 votes on election night to 33 votes and then to 22 after the first judicial recount. Young said she was proud she had closed the 9,000-vote gap.
“Justice has been done today, democracy has been upheld because every vote has been counted,” said Young.
